‘Insidious: Chapter 2’ Is A Monster Hit; May Open Bigger Than ‘The Conjuring’!

It’s a summer that has reminded us of a few various fact: horror it always hot, a properly marketed horror film will open well, and a good genre film can break box office records. Of course I’m not solely speaking of Insidious: Chapter 2 (review #1, review #2), which is poised to take in a whopping estimated $43M this coming weekend, but a plethora of efforts made by the studios over the course of the summer. Point is, horror is hot, is always hot, and studios need to stop being so trepidatious and get behind it.

Writes THR this Saturday Morning, marking another big win for horror, James Wan’s Insidious topped the Friday box office with roughly $20 million in ticket sales, one of the best showings of all time for September and putting the movie on course to cross $40 million in its debut.

From FilmDistrict and costing a mere $5 million to make, Insidious 2 even has a shot at becoming the top September opener of all time. Sony’s Hotel Transylvania (2012) is the current record-holder ($42.5 million). Insidious 2 also may eclipse the $41.9 million opening of New Line’s The Conjuring, also directed by Wan, which currently boasts the top horror opening of 2013.

Insidious 2, produced by Jason Blum and Oren Peli, returns Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne in the title roles. It opens more than two years after the original Insidious turned into a sleeper hit, opening to $13.3 million on its way to grossing north of $54 million domestically and $43 million internationally.

From a script by Leigh Whannell, Insidious 2 follows the Lambert family as they seek to understand the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world. Lin Shaye and Ty Simpkins also star.